Paper Doll
by LalaEveryDay
Summary: You're like twenty-two girls in one, but none of them know what they're running from. Was it just to far to fall, for a little paper doll? Rated T. One-shot. Based off the song by John Mayer.


_Paper Doll_

**You're like twenty-two girls in one, but none of them know what they're running from. Was it just to far to fall, for a little paper doll?**

_**No, I have not been laying in bed for the past two days, watching Spider-Man, reading Pitch Perfect fanfiction and listening to Paper Doll by John Mayer on loop. That is what I have not been doing.**_

_**I thought I was due for a one-shot, so here you go.**_

_**And don't mess your tits, I'll update Chasing Tomorrow and The Art of Crime and Perfection later.**_

"Eddie, do you regret meeting Loren?"

Eddie looks up from his lap, and stares blankly at the director of his support group, Martin. He was at least forty, with already greying hair and sharp blue eyes. Eddie bit his lip, and didn't answer.

"It's okay not to answer, but you'll have to discuss her eventually," Martin said. Eddie remained silent. He would never, ever have to talk about Loren. Ever.

Because he loved her, more than he'd ever loved anyone.

* * *

It was fall, the very beginning of it, where the leaves were just starting to turn and the weather was still warm. She was waiting tables in a coffee shop, Eddie's favourite one. He had never seen her before, maybe because she worked afternoon shifts and he came in the mornings. But he remembered the second he layed eyes on her, and the only thing he could think was: wow.

Her nametag read Loren, her eyes read beauty. He was tripping over his own thoughts.

"Hello, can I help you?" She asked. Her voice was soft and sweet, melodic even.

"Uh, yeah, I'd, uh, like one, um..." Eddie stammered. Loren laughed, leaving Eddie mesmerized.

"Let me know when you decide," she said with a smile.

And just like that, something was started. It was off, it was going, and there was no going back.

::

It was now mid-fall, and the leaves were floating towards the ground like paper dolls left to float in the wind. He ran into her at the park, the autumn breeze blowing stray strands of hair from her ponytail.

"Oh, hi. It's Eddie, right?" she asked, upon seeing him. He nodded and smiled at her.

"I remember you. You took fifteen minutes to order your coffee," Loren said with a laugh. Eddie sucked air through his teeth.

"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that." Loren laughed again.

"Yeah, well, it's not everyday someone like you walks in and stutters like a fish out of water. I'm Loren, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember, Loren." He smiled at her. "And guys like me? What's that supposed to mean?" Loren blushed.

"I was hoping you'd overlook that. You know, the confident guy who you have better luck seeing in some high class club or whatever than a coffee shop in Tarzana," she explained.

"Ah. You know, I happen to be a regular at Aroma." Loren smiled, and looked at her feet.

"My friend Melissa told me that. She calls you Sexy Seven AM guy." Eddie laughed.

"Melissa's nice. She has my order memorized," Eddie replied. Loren looked at her feet.

"Yeah, Mel's awesome. Hey, I have to go. I'm going to miss my shift, but, uh-" Loren pulled a little tissue from one of those mini Kleenex packages and a pen, scribbling some numbers on it. "Call me sometime. Or text me. Whichever... whichever works." She handed him the napkin and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Okay, I'll do that." Loren smiled.

"Okay."

"It was nice seeing you." Eddie held is hand out and Loren shook it.

"You too, Eddie."

And then they parted ways, both anxious for the time when they'd meet again.

::

Eddie got the text at three AM. He wasn't asleep, but he wasn't wide awake either. But when he read the text, he may as well have had a bucket of cold water dumped over his head.

_Can we meet? -Loren_

Eddie's fingers slid across the keyboard quickly.

_Of course. Where? -Eddie_

_The park? -Loren_

_Sounds good. -Eddie_

Eddie had never driven so fast in his life. It was unlike Loren, who had become his close friend in the past month and a half, to text him anytime after midnight- she was and early sleeper- so he was worried something was wrong.

By the time he got there, Loren was sitting on the oak bench, staring at the dark sky above her. It was cold, although it was still fall/borderline winter.

"Hey," Eddie said. Loren looked over to him, and he could see tears spilling over her eyes.

"Hi." Her voice cracked, and Eddie's heart ached for her. Instead of saying anything, though, he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She buried her head on his shoulder and cried.

They went on like this for about five minutes, with Eddie holding her so tightly he could've easily suffocated her, until Eddie finally spoke.

"What happened, Lo?" he asked softly. She pulled away, much to Eddie's disappointment, and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"My dad showed up at the coffee shop today." Eddie clenched his jaw.

Trent McHall was Eddie's least favourite person. A few weeks ago, Loren had told him all about how he left when she was four and never even made an attempt to contact her. Him suddenly showing up when she was eighteen was definitely suspicious.

"What did he say?" Eddie asked. Loren sniffled and wiped another tear.

"He came asking for money. He said he'd just lost his house and needed help getting back on his feet." Eddie was in awe at the nerve of this guy.

"Holy shit. Did you give him any?" Loren laughed bitterly.

"Hell no. I told him to leave or I was calling the police for harassment." Loren swallowed hard, and Eddie pulled her close to him, placing a kiss in her hair.

"If that ass hole even tries to contact you again against your will, I swear to god I'll kill him," he said into her hair. She laughed, a real one this time, and Eddie felt relieved.

"Thanks, Eddie," she murmured.

::

The snow was falling. At least, it would be if they weren't in southern California.

Loren was at Eddie's Christmas party, surrounded by a bunch of people she didn't know and/or like. Eddie could tell by the way she'd laugh nervously and how she'd fiddle with her fingers. A habit she had when she was anxious.

She looked beautiful, though it wasn't a surprise. Her dress wasn't too short like all the other girls' were, and her make-up wasn't perfect. Her hair was curly, but that was a usual thing for her.

She didn't even try, but she looked flawless.

The DJ in the corner played a slow song, which was still Christmassy, but intended for people to dance to. Which they did.

At least twenty girls asked him to dance, but he said no to all of them. Because there was only one girl he wanted to dance with.

"Hey, Loren," he said to her, while she was sitting down and playing Doodle Jump on her phone.

"Oh, hi," she replied, with a bright smile. He held out his hand, and Loren hesitated before grabbing it. When she did, though, he pulled her up, and put his hands around her waist and hers around her neck. She was fighting back a smile, but it kept appearing as they swayed to the music.

"Are you having fun?" he asked her. Loren pursed her lips, trying not to smile.

"So, I'm off work for two weeks starting tomorrow," she said, obviously trying to change the subject. Eddie laughed and pulled her a little closer.

"I take it you aren't." Loren let out an awkward laugh.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I don't know anyone and I've never been one for parties." Eddie shook his head, smiling.

"Lo, you don't have to apologize. I get it." Loren smiled, and they locked eyes. Her smile slowly faded.

"Whoohoo, the mistletoe ninja in the house!" A drunk party-goer yelled, walking around and waving the mistletoe over people's heads. Eddie was secretly hoping they'd come over and wave mistletoe over their heads.

And, when they did, he took no hesitation in kissing her.

She didn't respond at first, but it didn't take her long to get over the initial shock. His lips moved with hers, not for too long, but longer than mistletoe requires.

Eddie had never been so grateful for drunk people in his life.

::

Loren was curled up next to Eddie on the couch, while some movie Loren had never heard of flashed across the screen. It was pretty obvious she wasn't paying attention, though; her eyes kept drifting, to the ceiling, the walls, et cetera. She was trying to savor the moment, her last day before having to go back to work.

"You know," Eddie whispered in her ear, "It's actually a pretty good movie, if you pay attention." Loren looked over to see him smiling. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and raised their interlocked hands, kissing the back of hers. Loren smiled too.

"Yeah, I know. I just have a short attention span." Eddie laughed and squeezed her hand.

"So, you can sit there and read the unabridged version of Les Miserables, but you can't watch a movie?" Loren shrugged and Eddie kissed her forehead.

"My god, you're adorable," he murmured. She gave a breathy laugh and Eddie placed a light kiss on her mouth. Loren kissed him back, her arms winding around his neck and his going to her waist. She smiled against the kiss, which made Eddie smile too.

They were pretty happy.

::

The end of winter came, and by now it was almost spring. There were already flowers, it being California and all. But, technically, it was still winter, which meant she had another six weeks until Loren's next break.

Eddie came into the coffee shop late that day, so he'd get to see Loren before she got off work and even surprise her.

When he walked in, Loren was busy writing something in a notebook, leaning over the counter and tapping her pen against the counter. She heard the bell, but didn't look up.

"I'll be with you in just a second," Loren said, writing even quicker.

"Can't even look at your boyfriend, miss Tate?" Eddie teased. Loren looked up and a smile spread across her face. She put down the pen and walked over to him, standing up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.

"I haven't seen you in..." Eddie laughed.

"A whole twenty-four hours? Yeah, I know," Eddie replied with a laugh. She scowled a little.

"Shut up," she said, before smiling and kissing him again.

"Ooh, Loren's gettin' some!" A voice called from the counter. Melissa made kissy faces at Loren, who rolled her eyes and kissed Eddie one more time before taking her place back behind the counter.

"Shut up, Melissa," Loren said, whacking her with a towel. Melissa put her hands up in defense.

"Hey, I have nothing against the PDA. I actually find it amusing. However, I called dibs on Sexy Seven like a year ago, so that's kinda bogus. But hey, you two are cute," Melissa replied. Loren rolled her eyes and hit her one more time, before using the towel to wipe the counters down.

"We're almost closed, so just give me a minute and we can go," Loren told Eddie. Melissa scoffed.

"I'll clean up, Lo. Go have fun. Safe fun, we don't need any tiny Loren's for a good five years." Loren rolled her eyes and grabbed Eddie's hand.

"Bye, Melissa," she said with a laugh.

"I'm serious! Make good choices!" she yelled after them, but they were already out the door.

"Sorry, Melissa's..." Loren apologized, but Eddie laughed.

"Don't be sorry. She's funny." Loren rolled her eyes.

"She has her moments, when she isn't either mocking me or mocking you." Eddie laughed again, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

::

The middle of spring was scorching.

Plants were dying, as well as grass. People could see the heat rising from the ground, like a toaster when you look directly over where you put the toast.

So, when Loren suggested they go to the beach, Eddie didn't argue.

It was crowded, which wasn't a surprise or even a disappointment considering the weather. Loren invited Melissa and Eddie invited his friend Ian, so it made it harder to find places where they could all sit together.

"Hey, Mel, come with me to the shop over there. I forgot sunscreen," Loren said, once they had found a decent spot where they weren't elbow-to-elbow with some random beachgoers.

"Mmkay. Be right back," Melissa replied, winking at Ian before getting up and following her.

"Loren's sexy, but Melissa... damn," Ian commented, after Mel and Loren had left. Eddie winced.

"Don't call my girlfriend sexy, Ian." Ian raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, man, only putting it as it is." Although Ian was right and Loren was sexy, Eddie didn't like it when he called girls that. Especially Loren.

Loren and Melissa navigated through the swarms of people, constantly uttering "excuse me" until their voices were hoarse.

"Okay, Lo, Sexy Seven is probably one of the hottest pieces of ass this beach has ever seen, but Ian is above him." Loren actually looked offended.

"Is not!" Melissa scoffed.

"Please. Have you seen the guys here? They weigh, like, four hundred pounds and-" Melissa started, but Loren cut her off.

"I didn't mean that he wasn't the hottest piece of ass to hit this beach, I meant that Ian is not above him!" Melissa rolled her eyes.

"Eddie is sexy as hell, but Ian is better." Loren opened her mouth to reply, but some extremely tall, extremely brutish guy stepped directly in front of them.

"Excuse me," Loren said, trying to step away from him and walk the remaining one hundred feet to the gift shop, but the man wouldn't let her.

"Earl, get over here!" he called. Some blonde guy with muscles that couldn't be physically possible without steroids stepped next to him, and looked them up and down.

"You girls wanna come with us?" The first guy asked. Melissa scoffed.

"Please, I'd rather drown." The blonde shrugged.

"That can be arranged." Loren's hand flew to the pocket of her shorts, where her phone was.

"Excuse me, before I call the cops," Loren threatened, walking forward to push through them. The first guy grabbed her arm.

"Now, where do you think you're going?" He asked. Loren felt sick.

"Let go of me. Now," she demanded. When he didn't, and instead grabbed her ass, Loren elbowed him in the gut and stomped on his foot, making him let go immediately.

"Forget the sunscreen, let's go." Melissa nodded in agreement, before turning around and flipping them off.

"Go to hell," she told them, before grabbing Loren's arm and pulling her through the crowd.

"Damn, Loren, should I start calling you Black Widow or something?" Loren laughed aloud.

"Yeah, right."

"Seriously, though. I felt like I was being raped by his eyes." Loren shivered.

"I felt like I was about to be raped," she said as they approached the rest of the group.

"Hey, where's the sunscreen?" Eddie asked Loren as she sat down next to him. She winced.

"Your girlfriend is a badass, Eddie. I mean, honestly. This guy was hitting on her and she totally kicked his ass." Eddie tensed.

"What do you mean, hitting on her?" Loren shot Melissa a warning look, but she ignored it.

"This douche touched her ass. You should've seen it. He'll probably need to go to the hospital or something." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Melissa, please. You're exaggerating immensely." Eddie looked at Loren.

"Did someone really touch you, Lo?" he asked. Loren bit her lip.

"It was no big deal, Eddie-"

"Hell yes it was! She was practically molested back there?" Loren shot Mel a look.

"Not helping," she said. Melissa shut up after that.

"Okay, I'm going to kill this guy."

"Eddie, it's fine. I'm fine. Okay?" She assured him. Eddie shook his head.

"No, Loren! It isn't fine. Where is this guy, because I swear to god-" Loren cut him off with a kiss.

"Eddie," she whispered against his lips. She wasn't sure he could hear her, but oh well. "I'm okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

::

Loren had never yelled at Eddie, not once. But after the summer pool party, yet another one she'd been dragged into, she couldn't help herself.

"Please, that bitch was practically dry humping you!" She shouted. Eddie let out an exasperated sigh.

"First of all, Lia is not a bitch. And secondly, you went off with Cameron, so you can't blame me if I-"

"Cameron was offering me a job, you idiot!" She opened the top drawer and pulled out some t-shirts and shoved them in her bag.

"Bullshit! He looked at you like he wanted nothing more than to get into your pants!" Loren rolled her eyes and pulled a pair of her sweatpants and her jeans from another drawer.

"Kind of like how you were looking at Lia?" She deadpanned, as she walked to the bookshelf and grabbed her copies of the Notebook and Les Miserables, which she'd kept there for a while now. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not some big boobed bottle blonde, but please have fun with her."

"Loren, you're being irrational. You know-" Loren stood up and dropped her bag, looking him in the eye with serious acidity.

"What do I know, Eddie?" she asked. Eddie ran a hand through his hair.

"You know what you know."

"All I know is that from the way you were grinding up against her she better hope she's on birth control." Eddie sighed.

"Loren, you know how I feel about you!" He was hoping she'd get the hint, but no such luck.

"I know that you still find the need to have to rub up against-"

"Loren, god dammit, I love you!" he yelled. She looked surprised, which surprised him. They'd been together for six months, how had she not known?

"Wh-what?" she stammared. He walked towards her and brought her lips to his.

"I love you," he said against her lips. She pulled away and looked him in the eye, a smile spreading across her lips.

"I love you too," she murmured, pulling his lips to hers again. "But if you do that again, I swear I'm out of here." Eddie smiled and kissed her again.

"Never, babe," he whispered.

::

July 18th, Loren Tate was found dead on the concrete.

She walked to the top of a fifty-story building, and jumped.

No one expected it, especially not Eddie. When he got the phone call, confirming her death, his heart stopped. He tried calling her, fifteen times in a row. He was almost certain she'd pick up. Because Loren, his Loren, would not kill herself. She couldn't; she wouldn't.

But she did.

* * *

"Eddie, are you there?" Martin asked. He blinked once.

"No, I don't regret her. Not for a moment. She was everything I wanted, ever. Regretting her would be like regretting being born. I don't know why she did it, and I don't even think she knew what she was running from. I miss her. I love her. But never will I regret her." The entire group looked at him, and he started telling their story, front to finish.

And never once did he regret it.

And never once did he regret anything.

**Okay, so, this took me six hours to write.**

**Six. Hours.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated, so please, please, please review and tell me what you think! This is a one-shot, so please know that there will me no more chapters.**


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